Brian Idowu, who is based in Russia, maade his debut for Nigeria in the international friendly game the Super Eagles played against Argentina, scoring one of the goals that condemned the South American giants to 4-2 defeat and he eventually played for Nigeria at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Nigeria crashed out at the group stage and it has been revealed how Adelakun helped the defender into the Super Eagles.

In an exclusive interview with PM EXPRESS in St. Petersburg, Brian’s dad, Sunday Oyeyemi Idowu said that it was a dream come true to watch his son, who has a Masters Degree in Marketing at the age of 22 years dorn the white and green colours of Nigeria at the World Cup, adding that it would not have been possible if not for the roles played by Fegor Ogude, his teammates at FC Amkar , who had played for the Super Eagles in the past and Tunde Adelakun, the Technical Assistant to Gernot Rohr in the Super Eagles, who made enquiries about the player and ensured that his son played for the national team.

“Brian just called me one day that one of his teammates at FC Amkar, a Nigerian player, who had played for the Super Eagles in the past. I think his name is Fegor Ogude. He informed Brian that somebody called from Nigeria making enquiries about him and the person is requesting to have his number for discussion on the possibility of playing for the Eagles. Brian told me about it and asked if he should send his number to the Nigerian, ” Idowu’s father said.

“He gave his number and a call came from Mr. Tunde Adelakun in London. He told him of the plans of the technical crew of the Super Eagles to invite him to play for Nigeria. I was very happy when he told me about the discussion he had with Tunde. I gave him my blessing to play for Nigeria. But the problem was that, Brian was born here. He speaks Russian language fluently , so he was wondering how he will fit into the national team set up. I told him not to worry , that if the invitation comes, he should honour it and forget the rest.

“Along the line during that period, his club got to know about it that Nigeria was interested in extending invitation to him. The club started to threaten him that if he honours the invitation to play for Nigeria that they will not feature him again. He will be dropped from the main team. It was a very difficult and stressful period for Brian that time. The club is bankrupt now and Brian will definitely leave for another club. In Russia, most people only recognise or support CSKA Moscow or Zenith St. Petersburg and if a player is not playing for these two big clubs, he is not that recognsied in Russia.

“Brian informed Tunde about this development and I also had to call one of the coaches too to inform him. But at the end of it all , he was invited for the friendly game against Argentina and to my surprise, he scored a goal against Argentina. He worked hard to make the Super Eagles team to the World Cup in Russia and he played all the three games. It was very emotional for me to watch my son play against Argentina here in St. Petersburg, the city of his birth,” he said

_________________They seek him here.They seek him there.Moderators seek him everywhere.They seek him at nightAnd even at noonThat damn elusive cooking spoon

“Along the line during that period, his club got to know about it that Nigeria was interested in extending invitation to him. The club started to threaten him that if he honours the invitation to play for Nigeria that they will not feature him again. He will be dropped from the main team. It was a very difficult and stressful period for Brian that time. The club is bankrupt now and Brian will definitely leave for another club. In Russia, most people only recognise or support CSKA Moscow or Zenith St. Petersburg and if a player is not playing for these two big clubs, he is not that recognsied in Russia.

Perhaps this is fear of losing him during AFCON? This could be one of the reasons why Nigerian players don't get given as much of a chance by European clubs nowadays.

_________________Only two things in life are certain - death and taxes. But there is one other unpleasant certainty: criticism. No one escapes it entirely and often our careers, our emotional stability, even our happiness depends on how we react to it."By Benjamin Franklin"

Well, we saw what happened on our game against Argentina. No doubt Idowu had a bad day in the office. All the same, thanks to all our players, they did their best.

_________________And the BIBLE says: The race is NOT for the swift, neither is the battle for the strong nor ... but time and chance makes them all.Ecclesiastes 1:18: For in much wisdom is much grief and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow.

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."